§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of the Section 1 committal procedure upon the number of cases going for trial.
§ The Attorney-GeneralNone. It was suggested in evidence to the Interdepartmental Committee on The Distribution of Criminal Business between the Crown Court and Magistrates' Courts that a significant number of cases were committed for trial on evidence which did not justify a committal. The committee was unable to establish the validity of this opinion; to try to do so would, in its 273W view, have involved a detailed and lengthy study which would probably have been inconclusive. No assessment was, therefore, attempted by the committee. I accept the committee's conclusion that it would be unproductive to attempt such an assessment.